Snake and Wolf Volume One : Finding of Things Past
by Saerry Snape
Summary: {rewrite of Snake and Wolf: The Finding} Severus Snape, Hogwart's dreaded Potions Master, believes his younger sister Saerry has been dead for fourteen years. But Snape is about to get a surprise. And another event from the past is going to come back t
1. A Story Fourteen Years in the Making

_So my choice is 'Or Death?' * = definition/explanation/etc at end of chapter_

_~ Do you like…bread? ~ = thoughts_

Chapter 1

Fourteen years ago… 

Flames of orange and red crested the black sky as the great manor built ages ago by Cadian Snape burnt.  Those few wizards and witches that lived around only watched the fire for a moment before they closed their shutters and turned back to their lives.

The glowing green skull and serpent hovered above the house, showing all that could see it that Voldemort's Death Eaters had been on another raid and had killed again.

In the chaos of it all a young girl of six years of age stumbled away from the crackling flames.  Tears turned her cheeks silver as she cried silently.  She was the only survivor of the fire in Snape Manor, the only survivor of the murder.  Her parents had been killed by one of the Death Eaters while she had hidden in her older brother's room.  When the fire had started, she had fled.  Even now she could hear the moving portraits screaming and the tinny shrieks of the house-elves.

She choked back a sob and gathered her blanket about her, sinking down into the grass.  Then she heard a stick snap and looked up to see one last Death Eater standing there, not ten feet away from her.  Scrambling to her feet, she ran for the forest, tears glistening as they flew about her face.  Dark eyes wide and terrified, she looked back.

"_Avada Kedavra!_"

"NO!" shrieked a house-elf's tinny voice.  "You shall not harm Miss Saerry!"

The girl turned at the sound of that voice and screamed in her own childish one, "Mabry, no!"

The Death Eater was frozen in the house-elf's grip, his mask falling off to reveal a face the young girl knew.  She shrieked, "No!  No NO _NO!_"

"Let go, worthless elf!" bellowed Lucius Malfoy, hood falling back to reveal his long blond hair.

"No!" yelled the house-elf Mabry.  Though badly burnt, the little elf was protecting the young girl.  She cried, "Run, Miss Saerry!  Run!"

Saerry Snape, tears in her dark brown eyes, pulled her blanket tighter about her and turned to flee.  At that exact moment, Mabry fell and Lucius was released.  He turned cold, emotionless gray eyes on the fleeing figure of the girl and bent down to retrieve his wand.  When he stood again, he aimed it at her back.

"_Avada Kedavra!_"

Saerry heard the sound of the curse and dove into the bushes, screaming as the curse flew overhead and struck a poor deer.  She watched as it fell then heard Lucius' laughter, even after he had Apparated away.  After a moment of lying on the ground, she sat up, pulling her now dusty blanket about her as she watched her home burn.

Tears welling up again in her eyes, she turned to the forest and began to walk forward.

* * * * * *

In front of the house an hour later, Severus Snape stood on the Manor's lawn, horror filling his black eyes.

His parents, his little sister, the house-elves.  All gone.  All – all dead.

His entire reason for living – gone.  His father – he could have cared less for the man.  But his mother and the light that was his angelic little sister…

_No._

No tears.  He was trying but he couldn't cry.  His family was dead and he _couldn't weep for them!_

Severus' hands clenched, tightening until his fingernails broke through the skin of his palms and blood began to trickle down.  Black eyes flashing with an otherworldly fury, he looked up at the dark sky and roared, "You'll pay for this Voldemort!  If it takes my last breath, _you will pay!_"

* * * * * *

Three days later…

Severus Snape could barely believe his ears.

Voldemort was gone.  _Gone._  And little Harry Potter had been the one to do it, when other wizards and witches could barely stand against the Dark Lord.

It filled him with a rage.  A babe little more than a year old had vanquished Voldemort when so many more had tried and failed.

_He_ had wanted to kill the bastard.  His _mother_ and _sister_ were dead because of _him_, probably because of his true allegiances to Dumbledore.  But why not just kill him?  Why go after his family?

Severus smiled a cold smile, dark hair falling about his face.

He knew.  Voldemort was a madman.  And he knew that Severus wouldn't have given a damn if he'd been killed.  So he went after what the young man cared about most.

His family.

"Damnit."

Severus ran his hands back through his hair, eyes gleaming with unshed tears.  Even now he could not weep for them.  And now he was alone.  All alone…

* * * * * *

_Fourteen years later…_

A dark blur that almost faded into the darkness of the Forbidden Forest flashed through the trees, dodging this way and that around them.  Its claws goughed the earth in deep grooves beneath it as it ran, panting hard.  Behind it raced a tall, lean figure in a black cloak, its face hidden by a deep hood.

Suddenly a howl rang out from somewhere close and the hooded figure paused for a moment before continuing its chase.

Metal flashed in the light of the full moon as the dark figure pulled a short, silver dagger from the folds of its robes.  It threw the blade at the creature it was chasing then fled into the deeper, darker, less traveled parts of the forest.

The dagger buried itself in the dark furred beast's side, causing the creature to let out a blood-curling howl.  It stumbled then let out a whimper and fell.

Sometime later, a huge shape lumbered out of the dark, a lantern swinging in one large paw.

The shape was Rubeus Hagrid, groundskeeper and Care of Magical Creature's teacher at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  He looked solemnly down at the fallen beast, his dark eyes sad.

"Poor 'ting."

The half-giant knelt down and gently picked the dark-furred beast up, not caring that it was a werewolf and would have killed him were it not hurt.  The beast let out a soft whimper then fell silent as Hagrid turned and headed back towards his cabin.

* * * * * *

A half-hour later, Hagrid sat back and wiped sweat off his brow.  He had done his best to staunch the blood flowing from the wound in the werewolf's side but as soon as the creature changed back, he'd have to take it up to Madam Pomfrey.  The blade had been silver but luckily not pure, so there was no need to fear for the creature's health.  It just needed that hole patched up and it'd be as good as new.

The half-giant was very glad that he had one of Professor Snape's sleeping draughts on hand.  If that beast had woken up, he might very well be dead and it loose on the grounds.

Hagrid sighed and gave a shake of his shaggy head before he turned toward the fire and began to fix a pot of tea.  As he sat back in his chair to let it steam, he turned his head towards the sleeping werewolf.  The flames in the fireplace glinted off something very nearly buried in its thick black fur and he frowned, pushed himself out of his chair.

Kneeling beside the bed, he reached out and brushed some fur away to see a worn copper medallion.  The tarnished metal was emblazoned with a symbol: a wand and a sword crossed with a snake coiled about the middle, its angular head resting on the blade of the sword.  There had appeared to be words below it at one time but they were long gone and could not be read.

The teakettle whistled and Hagrid hurried over to the fire, his mind worrying over the medallion as he poured the tea.

He had seen that symbol somewhere before.

Only he couldn't remember where.

* * * * * *

Severus Snape sat in his office working on deciding what the schedule for the upcoming year's classes would be.

After a few moments of writing his hand cramped and he leaned back in his chair, rubbing one hand over the other.  Absently he noticed the silver ring on his right ring finger.  On it was an image of a wand and a sword crossed with a snake coiled about the middle, its angular head resting on the blade of the sword.  Below this were the words _Nunquam praeoccupor morte, Usquequaque ut bellum obviam Obscurum *_.  It was the Snape family crest.

Sighing, he picked up his quill again and began to write.

* * * * * *

Hagrid watched the werewolf slumber peacefully for an hour, his mind racing back and forth, trying to figure out where he had seen that symbol before.

Then it came to him, like a bolt of lightning.  Professor Snape wore a heavy silver ring with that symbol on it.  Hagrid had asked him about it once and the dark professor had replied that it was his signet ring then stalked off towards the dungeons.

The half-giant turned his shaggy head turned the sleeping wolf, frowning.  Could whoever this werewolf was be a relation?  If so, surely the Potions Master would want to know.

He started to rise from his chair then froze as one of the werewolf's paws twitched.  Slowly he eased back down into his chair as Fang let out a whine.  Hagrid reached one large hand down to pat the boarhound's head, his eyes on the werewolf.

If he left now, the werewolf might wake and escape.  And then Professor Snape might be rather furious for him letting something bearing the professor's family crest get away.

Hagrid sighed and looked out the window, figuring there was only an hour or two to go until sunrise.  _Then_ he would go and find Professor Snape.

* * * * * *

When the sun rose an hour and a half later, Hagrid had his crossbow in hand, just in case the werewolf woke up during its transformation.  The jet-black fur of the beast was melting away, revealing porcelain skin beneath.  The wolfish face warped, the long fang-filled snout sinking into the face and becoming an aristocratic nose and a dainty mouth with angel bow lips.  The furry ears lost their point and slid down the slowly becoming human head, losing their fur and becoming rounded as they settled into their place.  There were whimpers of pain during all of this but the werewolf did not wake.

Long, elegant fingers curled in pain as they formed from the huge paws, the dark claws shrinking and turning clear before they could dig into the soft palms.  As the dark fur disappeared from its torso, Hagrid blushed bright red and grabbed a blanket, sliding it over _her_.  One hind leg kicked out from under the soft material, lengthening out into a slim leg ending in a dainty foot as the dark fur vanished.  Hagrid gently pushed the leg back up under the blanket.

The sun's first brilliant rays fell into the cabin in all their glory, illuminating the face of the woman.  Her porcelain skin seemed to suck in the light, turning her face golden and strikingly beautiful in sleep.  Long, dark lashes framed her closed eyes as she breathed deeply, a lock of dark hair streaked silver (not gray as the only other werewolf Hagrid knew) falling over her face.

Hagrid set the crossbow aside, staring at her.  _This_ woman was a _Snape_?  Then again, he had once seen Arwen Snape when she had come to Hogwarts after Sirius Black had sent a much younger Severus Snape into the tunnel to the Shrieking Shack, where he would have met the full-grown werewolf form of one Remus Lupin had James Potter not stopped the other boy first.  Arwen Snape had been a beautiful woman and if this young woman lying before him was her daughter…

Hagrid rose hurriedly to his feet.  He looked at the slumbering woman for a long moment, then out his window towards the castle.  If he hurried, he could tell Dumbledore about this and _he_ could tell Snape.  Yes.  Yes, that would work.

The half-giant nodded to himself then bustled towards the door, telling Fang to stay there.  As he pounded across the grounds towards the castle, Fang whimpered and took a few steps towards the woman.  He nudged her with a cold, wet nose then began to lick her hand.

A pair of dark brown eyes opened slowly, blinking when they saw the big boarhound.  Fang tilted his head to the side and made a questioning whimper.  The woman smiled and reached out her now saliva covered hand to stroke the dog's ears.

"Hello, boy."

* * * * * *

Hagrid hurried through the castle, ignoring Professor Sprout's cheerful "Good Morning" as he made for the Headmaster's office.  Barking the password to the gargoyle, he sprinted up the moving staircase and burst into the circular room.

"Professor Dumbledore!"

From the small observatory at the back of the office, the old wizard appeared, his long white beard tucked into his belt.  His bright blue eyes twinkled behind his half-moon glasses as they fell on the half-giant and he said, "Good morning, Hagrid.  What seems to be the problem?"

"Something ye might want ter see, headmaster," replied Hagrid.  "An' ye might want ter get Professor Snape too."

Dumbledore arched an eyebrow.

"Severus?"

"Yeh."  Hagrid shifted from one foot to the other then said, "I'd better go make sure she's still 'ere."  With that he was gone, disappearing down the staircase.

Dumbledore looked after him for a long moment then looked at the phoenix sitting on the golden perch behind his desk.

"It seems an interesting day begins, my friend."

The phoenix chirped in response and rustled his wings in agreement.

* * * * * *

Severus Snape was trying to decide what other immensely horrible things he could do to the Gryffindors in the upcoming year when there was a soft rap at his office door.  He looked up, scowling at the heavy oak door and wondering who would be disturbing him.

"Enter," he said after a moment of pondering over to whether let whoever was outside in.

Dumbledore entered, smiling cheekily at the young man.

"Good morning, Severus.  Lesson plans?"  He moved around the desk and peered over the black clad shoulder, chuckling a little when he saw what the Potions Master was writing.

"Aren't you being a little harsh, Severus?  Surely the Gryffindors don't deserve all of that in one year."

Severus scowled at the older wizard and earned a smile in return.  Dumbledore patted the younger man on the shoulder and said, "Hagrid has something he wants me to see.  He suggested you come along as well."

"Me?  What would that big oaf want with me?" snapped Severus.

"I would not know," replied Dumbledore, not in the least bit put off by the man's manner.  "Perhaps you will come with me and see?"

Severus grumbled something unsavory under his breath but set his quill aside and rose, stalking out of his office.  Dumbledore followed him, taking a lemon drop from his sleeve and popping it in his mouth.

* * * * * *

Hagrid returned to his cabin and saw, to his surprise, that the woman was awake.  To even more surprise, she was sitting outside his cabin, the blanket he'd draped over her wrapped about her torso with Fang's head in her lap.  At his approach she looked up, her dark brown eyes flashing.  Her lips drew back over her very white teeth in what could be determined as a snarl.

"Whoa," said Hagrid.  "Easy there, lass.  I'm na going ter hurt ye."

The woman narrowed her eyes at him then looked down at Fang.  She bent down and whispered something in the dog's ear, which caused the animal to lift his head and let out a bark.  Then she looked at Hagrid and spoke in a soft voice with a dangerous ring to it.

"So says Fang.  But I don't trust humans."

"I hope we can change that, my dear," said Dumbledore as he appeared beside Hagrid, a disgruntled looking Severus behind him.  "My name is Albus Dumbledore."

"Ah," said the woman.  "The schoolmaster.  I've heard of you."

"I do hope that whatever you heard was good."

The woman let out a laugh at that.  Her dark eyes however did not reflect her laughter they fell on Dumbledore.

"I doubt you would enjoy it."

Severus suddenly twitched, staring at the woman.  His black eyes widened as he studied her, thinking that he was wrong, that he was seeing things.  Finally he gasped, "_Saerry_?"

The woman's head snapped towards him, her dark brown eyes flashing.

"What did you call me?" she growled.

"Saerry," gasped Severus, his heart pounding against his ribs.  "You – you survived."

"I don't know what you're talking about," snapped the woman, her eyes flashing.  But there was something in her eyes, a dawning realization.

But Severus wouldn't give up.  This woman, she looked so much like his mother, who had been of an almost angelic beauty.  That face, the angel bow lips, the aristocratic nose, those almond-shaped eyes so much like his own.  How could it not be his sister?  She would be…twenty now?  Twenty-one in October.

"Saerry," he said again, taking a step forward and dropping to his knees.  Hagrid made to grab him but Dumbledore placed a withered hand on the half-giant's arm.  When Hagrid looked down at him, he shook his head, his eyes focused upon the woman and the kneeling professor.

The woman shook her head, eyes full of fear now.

"No," she said, her voice suddenly shrill.  "I – I don't know you.  I don't…"  She whimpered and put her head in her hands.  "I don't…"

Severus reached his arm towards her – his left arm – and she grabbed it.  Almost as though she'd done it many times before, she slowly unbuttoned the end of his sleeve and began to roll it up.  Hagrid blinked as he watched this.  Snape generally never let anyone touch him besides Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and Madam Pomfrey.  Yet here he was letting this woman rolled up his sleeve on the arm where…

The woman let out a little sob when she had rolled Severus' sleeve up to his elbow.  There, on his pale skin, lay the Dark Mark, glistening as black as his eyes – just as it had since Voldemort's return.  Her elegant fingers reached out towards it, running over the scarred flesh.  Then she looked up at him, tears in her dark brown eyes.

"_Sev_," she whispered and immediately threw herself into his arms.  Severus looked shocked for a moment then he folded his arms about her, pulling the blanket up as it slid down her bare back.  Hagrid looked on in shock while Dumbledore smiled serenely, pulling another lemon drop from his sleeve.

* * * * * *

"_His sister?_" exclaimed Madam Pomfrey.  "But, Albus, all of Snape Manor burned.  There _were_ _not_ any survivors!"

"Apparently the reports were wrong," stated Dumbledore, his fingers steepled.  All of the professors (with the exception of the Potions Master) had been called to his office.  There they had been informed of the arrival of Severus' younger sister.  "For she _is_ Saerry Snape."

"Are we certain?" said McGonagall, concern in her voice.  She had known Arwen Snape well (they had been friends since their school years) and had taught one of her two children, both of whom she had been familiar with since they were born.  "It could be an imposter."

Dumbledore shook his head.

"No, Minerva.  Severus made sure of that.  He asked her questions for a half-hour.  She _is_ young Saerry."  He chuckled and stroked his beard as he continued, "What other soul would know Severus' own soul as well as she does?"

McGonagall smiled at that.  What Dumbledore said was true.  There were only three people that Severus Snape had opened his soul to and two of those three were long dead.  The third had been thought dead as well and was now, in fact, alive and well.

"Is it true that she is a werewolf?" asked Professor Vector.

Remus Lupin looked up at that.  Another werewolf?

Dumbledore smiled at the returning Defense professor then nodded in reply to the question.  "Yes," he said, "she is."

"And living in the Forbidden Forest.  The poor child…"

"There _are_ packs in the Forest," said Lupin softly.  He looked at Dumbledore and added, "Perhaps she was with them all this time, having no other place to go."

"But Snape Manor wasn't near the Forbidden Forest," argued Madam Pomfrey.

McGonagall shook her head and pointed out, "Yes, it was, Poppy.  If I recall correctly, Arwen told me once that the forest out behind the Manor was the other half of the Forbidden Forest.  The calmer half, she said."

Dumbledore nodded.  "Very true, Minerva."

"What will she do now, Albus?" asked Madam Hooch.

"I presume that she will wish to learn what she never had a chance to learn," said Dumbledore.  He looked at McGonagall and added, "Am I correct, Minerva?  You knew those children much better than I did."

The Transfiguration professor smiled and said, "She will indeed wish to learn.  I remember that she adored watching Severus perform spells after he graduated."

"But how?" asked Professor Sprout.  "We couldn't possibly…"

"If she is as smart as Severus was," stated McGonagall with a smile, "which I do not doubt, she will be fine."

"Indeed," said Professor Sinistra, nodding slightly.  "He was top of his class."

"Except in Transfiguration," mused Lupin, looking at McGonagall, who smiled at him.

"True, Remus," she said.  Then she looked at Dumbledore and asked, "Where are they now?"

Dumbledore chuckled and replied, "To tell you the truth, Minerva, I have positively no idea."

"Albus!" exclaimed Madam Pomfrey, who had looked over Saerry the moment she'd been brought into the castle and was still worried about the young woman.

"I assure you they are fine, Poppy.  Severus, I daresay, shall never again let his sister out of his sight."

"A truer thing had probably never been said, Albus," said McGonagall, earning a smile from the older wizard.

* * * * * *

"This is so – _beautiful!_" exclaimed Saerry as Severus threw open the large, heavy doors leading into the Great Hall.  She stared about the huge room as she walked across it, her eyes drifting up to the enchanted ceiling, taking in the sunset that it showed.  Turning about, she smiled cheekily at her older brother and said, "I see why you always loved coming here.  The Manor was never this bright.  Mother could never…"  She trailed off suddenly, sadness in her eyes.

Severus strode forward and gently took her slim form into his arms.  She buried her face in his neck as she used to when she was younger.  Fourteen years in a forest could not change her reaction to his embrace.

"I still remember that night," she murmured into his ear.  Severus nodded, stroking her long dark hair, fiddling with one strand of silver.

"I know," he said.

"He was there, you know."

"Who?" said Severus, pushing her back so he could see her face.

Saerry looked up at him in confusion and answered, "Lucy."

Severus almost laughed.  He had forgotten his sister's nickname for Lucius Malfoy.  But he didn't laugh.

"_Lucius was there?_  The backstabbing bastard.  Oh, nevermind, all the Malfoy's have been backstabbing bastards.  Young Draco has yet to come into that trait."

"You didn't know?" gasped Saerry.

"Of course I didn't know!" declared Severus angrily.  He let go of her and began to pace.  "I _never_ knew who had been involved in the attack.  I just knew that Voldemort had ordered it!  No wonder the blond buffoon was smirking behind my back for days after that."

"He thought he'd killed me."

Those words froze Severus in his pacing.  He turned narrowed eyes on his sister, in which Saerry could see the beginnings of his temper raging.  She could also see it in the almost unnoticeable squaring of his broad shoulders and the twitch in his wand hand.

"_He – did – what?_"

"He thought he'd killed me," repeated Saerry calmly.  "He hit a deer instead."

"_The son of a bitch!  I'll kill him!  I will cut out his heart and feed it to that damned three-headed dog!_"

Saerry flung herself at her brother as he stalked angrily towards the entrance hall, grasping his arm.  When his furious gaze turned upon her, madness gleaming brightly in his black eyes, she said, "No, Sev.  Don't sink to his level.  I know you're angry, but I'm _alive_, Sev.  For all of his trying, I'm _alive._"

Severus looked down at her for a long moment, the longing to tear out Lucius Malfoy's heart gleaming in his eyes.  Then it faded away but not without a fight.  The Snape temper was legendary and generally when a Snape was angry, they did something about it.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, reaching up a hand to brush a lock of black hair out of her face.  "I lost you once, little sister, and it tore me apart.  I don't want to lose you again."

Saerry smiled and hugged him, burying her face in his shoulder as she felt his strong arms surround her slim frame.  "You won't," she promised, causing Severus to smile and lay his cheek against her hair.

Outside the Hall, Remus Lupin was slack jawed.  He had never known Severus to be anything like the man standing in the middle of the Great Hall, hugging the slim figure of his sister close.  It was a surprise that the teenager who had traded insult for insult with Sirius had ever had such a heart.

But then again, had Remus ever really gotten to know him?  ~ No, ~ thought the werewolf as he turned and walked as swiftly and silently as he could away from the Hall.

_*Nunquam praeoccupor morte , Usquequaque ut bellum obviam Obscurum - Never to fall prey to Death, Always to war against the Darkness_


	2. Change Makes the World Go Round

_So my choice is 'Or Death?' * = definition/explanation/etc at end of chapter_

_~ Do you like…bread? ~ = thoughts_

Chapter 2

In a cab on the Hogwarts Express, fifteen-year-old Harry Potter sighed and leaned back into the soft cushioning of his seat.  September 1st had come about again and he was heading back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for his fifth year.  He was greatly looking forward to seeing the huge castle again along with the gamekeeper, Hagrid.

Of course, there were also Filch and Snape, who both had something against him.  Filch probably still held a grudge because he thought Harry had Petrified Mrs. Norris during his second year.  As if he would ever touch that cat!

Snape's dislike of him, however, was a mystery.  Harry's simple _existence_ seemed to fuel Snape's rage and the Potions Master took every opportunity to take points from Gryffindor House or try to get him expelled.  It angered Harry to no end but he didn't hate his professor.  He just wondered what had he done to deserve such ridicule.  It wasn't as though he wasn't any good at Potions.  Hermione always checked over his reports and gave him good remarks on it, yet every time he got said report back from Snape – badda boom – a 'D'.

Shaking his head, Harry looked across the cab and choked back a laugh.  His friend, Ron Weasley, had fallen asleep and was snoring rather loudly.  Beside him, Hermione Granger was looking askance at the ginger-haired boy, glancing up from her rather large book then back down.  Finally, as though she'd had enough, the bushy-haired girl closed her book with a _snap_ and dropped it on Ron's head.  It did absolutely nothing to wake the slumbering boy.

Harry laughed softly at that, earning a hard look from Hermione.  He held up his hands to keep her from attacking him, absently noting – as he had since the beginning of summer – his suddenly long, elegant fingers and hands.  Several odd changes had happened to him over the summer.  His hair had quite suddenly taken on a reddish sheen in certain light and he had gone through a swift growth spurt, going from 5'4 to 5'11.  And through a lack of haircuts, his hair now fell just below his ears.  What made him happy about that was that it was now manageable.

With a smile on his face (what was a tad bit leaner with his cheekbones more pronounced), Harry looked out the window at their surroundings.  Outside there were only long, green fields sometimes speckled with animals.  At one point he had seen a horse galloping across a field and had followed it with his eyes until the train had gone through a tunnel.

Sighing, Harry closed his eyes, leaning his head against the window.  He had not meant to fall asleep but he did.  For a moment his mind drifted peacefully then abruptly he was thrown into a memory he did not fish to relive.  And for all his struggles he could not escape the graveyard in his mind even as he watched Cedric Diggory die once again, as he had seen him do so many times over the summer.  When Wormtail pulled out the silver knife and started to cut into Harry's arm, the teen jerked awake.  His head was throbbing like mad and for a moment he thought it was his scar until he felt Hermione's hand on his cheek.

"Oh, Harry, what did you do?"

"Dream," mumbled Harry, keeping his eyes closed as he felt her fingers probing his throbbing head.  From Hermione's muttering he discerned that he had, in his sleep, suddenly slammed his head hard against the window.  Which would explain the pain in his head and the fact that he had pulled himself out of his dream.  It wasn't the first time he'd awoken himself without knowing it.  A week and a half ago he had been jerked from that same dream and had found himself being slapped by his own hand.

Hermione frowned and poked at his head with her wand.  Harry jerked away and his eyes flew open.

"Ow!"

"Stop complaining," growled Hermione.  "You're the one who deliberately injured yourself.  If you hold still for half a second I can heal it."

Harry held still for a second then pulled back from Hermione's wand again.  When she scowled at him, he grinned cheekily and quipped, "You only said hold still for half a second."

"Get cheeky with me and you can wait until we get up to the castle so Madam Pomfrey can heal you!"

"Are you sure you know how?"

Hermione looked insulted at his question and huffed, "Of course I do!  After what happened last year, I asked Madam Pomfrey to teach me a few Healing Spells.  That way you won't have to go to her so often!"

Harry blanched and quickly said, "Forgivemeforbeingcheekandthankyouforkeepingmefromthehorrorofthehospitalwing."

Hermione laughed at that and flicked her wand at the small lump forming at his temple.  As it shrank, she said, "You're welcome.  Oh, that didn't wake him either?"

Harry noticed she was frowning at Ron and said, "He sleeps like a log."

"No kidding?" said Hermione sarcastically.

Harry laughed then abruptly stopped when the door of their cab slid open and Draco Malfoy entered, followed by his two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle.  The blond boy sneered at him and said, "Still here, Potter?  I'd have thought you'd be to scared to show your face at Hogwarts again after what you did to Diggory."

"Harry did not do anything to Cedric!" snapped Hermione, jabbing her wand at the Slytherin.  Red sparks spit out of it and Malfoy smirked at Harry.

"Got the Mudblood defending you now, Potter?  Proves you can't fight your own battles…"

"Get out," hissed Harry, head down, hair shielding his eyes from view.

"Why should I?" asked Malfoy, leaning against the doorframe.  "I'm quite comfortable here.  And so is Weasley, it seems," added the blond, his gray eyes flicking to the still slumbering Ron.

"Get out," repeated Harry, still not looking up.

Malfoy sneered and said, "What?  To afraid to look at me, Potter?  Are you _scared_?"

"No, Malfoy," said Harry softly.  He looked up, eyes shining with an almost otherworldly fury.  "But you should be."  Those words were not spoken in vain.  The tone they were said in was one of complete seriousness, not a shred of the anger burning in the emerald eyes in it.

Malfoy took a step back in surprise.  He frowned and said softly, "You would have made a good Slytherin, Potter."

Harry only growled in response and Malfoy retreated out into the corridor, one hand raised.

"I'm going, Potter.  But I'll be back."

"We'll see," said Harry softly, smirking in a way that was almost familiar.  Malfoy glared at him until Hermione slammed the door shut in his face and slid the curtains across it.  Then she turned towards Harry, who was looking out the window again.

"What was _that_ about?"

Harry looked at her, all anger gone from his eyes now.  He shrugged and replied, "Nothing, Mione."

Hermione frowned at her friend and started to say something when the conductor voice rang through the train, telling them that they were about to arrive at Hogwarts.

* * * * * *

Ahead at Hogwarts, Saerry was getting acquainted with the Fat Lady's portrait, who she had stumbled upon in her search for her brother.  Currently she had been there for an hour and was now sitting on the floor, listening intently as the portrait told her about her mother, who had been a Gryffindor.

"She was a lovely girl, your mother," said the Fat Lady.  "Like you."

"I remember," mumbled Saerry.  "Barely."

The Fat Lady smiled reassuringly down at her.

"Just look in your mirror to see her, dear.  But I daresay you have your father's coloring."

Saerry nodded.  She could vaguely remember that her mother's hair had been auburn and her eyes had been a brilliant cobalt.  "Yeah," she said softly.

"I just hope you have her mischievous streak," said the Fat Lady.  "That scamp of a brother of yours used to have it.  Speaking of your brother…"  The portrait turned towards a dark figure walking towards them and waved.  "Hello, Severus."

"Lady," said Severus curtly, nodding to her.  He then looked down at Saerry and added, "The Sorting Ceremony is about to start.  I thought you might want to see it."

The dark brown eyes lit up and Severus chuckled.

"I see you do."

Saerry beamed in response and held out her hand.  Severus grasped it and pulled her to her feet, performing a Scouring Charm on her deep red robes to get rid of the dust that had gathered upon them.  He then turned to the Fat Lady and made a short bow.  "Lady."

"Scamp," admonished the portrait, earning a small smile from the Potions Master.  "And I hope you come back and see me, dear."

"It was a pleasure talking to you, Lady," said Saerry with a smile.  "I will come back sometime."

The Fat Lady smiled after them as she watched them walk off, Saerry's hand nestled in the crook of her brother's arm.  She shook her head and said to herself, "I sincerely hope that young woman will bring some life back into that man's life.  He needs it dearly."

* * * * * *

"How was your summer, Harry?"

Harry turned his head to look at Fred as they walked up the steps into the castle, twitching in shock when he realized he was the same height as the older boy.  He shook off his surprise and replied, "Same as usual," trying dearly not to remember the summer.  The Dursley's had generally left him alone but the nightmare's Harry had had during those months were full of Death Eater meetings and torture.

"Mum tried to get Dumbledore to let you come to the Burrow," explained Fred, also noting the younger boy's sudden growth spurt.

"Let me guess," spat Harry bitterly, "he didn't go for it?"

Fred looked a little surprised by the bitter tone but nodded and replied, "No go."

Harry snorted.  "Figures."

"Why do you say that, Harry?" ask Ginny, suddenly coming up on his right.

"Oh just the usual.  It's always the same.  Let's leave poor Harry Potter in the hands of his hateful relatives.  Let's not let Harry Potter visit his friends.  Let's keep Harry Potter isolated so Voldemort (everyone but Hermione winced) won't find him.  Will we see what Harry thinks?  No.  We'll just scoot him along because we just simply can't loose him because he's the Boy-Who-Lived."  Harry snorted when he finished then added in a soft voice, so soft that only Ginny and Hermione – who were closest to him – could hear it.  "Sometimes I just want to say 'Fuck the Boy-Who-Lived.  Just let me be Harry.'  Can't I just be Harry for one bloody day?  Is it too much to ask?"

Hermione frowned at her friend and reached out to touch his shoulder.  At her touch, he turned wide emerald eyes on her.

"You heard that?" he gasped.

Hermione nodded solemnly and Harry grumbled, "You weren't supposed to hear that."

"Harry…" began Hermione, but was cut off when Harry turned around and jerked away from her, hurrying on up the steps.  Ron stared after him for a moment then looked at Hermione.

"What was that about?"

Hermione gave Ron a sad look that almost said 'Don't you know?' then shook her head and took the steps up in twos quickly.  Ginny frowned for a moment then followed the other girl.

"Anyone get what just happened?" said Ron to his brothers.

Fred shook his head and George said, "I think there's a bit more up with Harry than he's letting on.  Did you hear that tirade?"

"That wasn't a tirade," admonished Fred, "that was a rant."

"Sorry.  Confusing Harry with Mum."

Ron shuddered and remarked, "Scary image.  C'mon, let's catch up."

"Right-o," said the twins in unison and ran ahead into the Great Hall.  Ron shook his head, looking up at the ceiling as if to say 'Why me?' then followed.

* * * * * *

_Another day of Sorting for me,_

_For it is my job to sort thee._

_In one House you shall go_

_But which one you shall not know._

_Perhaps in Gryffindor,_

_Where the brave are found_

_Or in Hufflepuff,_

_Where the loyal abound._

_Maybe in Ravenclaw,_

_Where knowledge is a virtue._

_Or perhaps in Slytherin,_

_Where cunning is key._

_Into one I will place you_

_And there you shall stay._

_So put me on in just one flourish,_

_And I'll tell you, which House suits you._

McGonagall had to cough to get the first years attention after the Sorting Hat finished singing and said, "When I call your name, you will come up and sit on the stool.  I shall place the Sorting Hat on your head and it will tell you what your House is to be."

"Ainsworth, Jeffrey."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Arney, Matt."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Babcock, Linda."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The Sorting went rather fast, no child staying under the Hat longer than a minute and a half.  Each table applauded as a new member was added to its House, revealing to those first years who didn't know where their House was the location.

"Vigoda, Cyrus."

"SLYTHERIN!"

With a flourish McGonagall rolled up her scroll and picked up the Sorting Hat and stool, carrying them out of the Hall.  In new students, Gryffindor had received ten along with Hufflepuff.  Ravenclaw had only gotten nine while Slytherin had taken in the most, earning a total of twelve.

When McGonagall returned, Dumbledore rose from his seat, lifting a hand for quiet.  Older students quickly fell silent then shushed the younger students around them.  When the Hall was silent, Dumbledore spoke.

"Welcome to a new year," he said.  "And welcome to new students.  I only have one thing to say to all of you and that is tuck in."

As the headmaster sat down, the plates on the tables filled with food and the students dug in.  At the Gryffindor table, Ron was stuffing his mouth like the food was going to disappear.  Hermione gave him a look of disgust then looked at Harry, who was sitting across from her and stabbing his fork at the potatoes on his plate.

"Are you not hungry?" she asked curiously.

Harry shook his head and sighed heavily, letting his fork drop into his plate and leaned back, rubbing his hands over his eyes.  It was then that Hermione noticed the faint circles under his eyes.

"Harry," she said, "have you not gotten any sleep?"

"Not lately," replied the boy, giving her a weary look.  "I'm hoping I'll sleep better here than at the Dursley's."

"Maybe you should go ask Madam Pomfrey for a Sleeping Potion."

Harry snorted and shook his head.

"And have her insist I stay in the hospital wing for the night?  Thanks, but no thanks, Mione.  I've spent enough time in there.  I _hate_ staying in there."

"I think everyone does," said Hermione.

"I think I hate it more than anyone else."

"How can you be sure?"

Harry smirked and replied, "Just trust me on this one, Hermione.  _Nobody_ can possibly despise the hospital wing more than I do.  Unless they've got a phobia of hospitals…  _Then_ I think they'd beat me."

Hermione chuckled then looked down at her plate, mind whirling.  Harry had smirked.  And with his fairly different appearance he had almost resembled someone.  But _who?_

"Hey, look," said Seamus suddenly, "Professor Lupin's back."

Harry practically whirled in his seat and grinned broadly when he saw that, indeed, Remus Lupin was back.  His eyes met the returning professor's gray and he waved, earning a smile and a nod in return.  Turning back to his friends, Harry said softly, "Well, Defense'll be interesting this year for sure."

"I thought it was interesting enough last year," said Lavender sharply from further down the table.  "Professor Moody was very harsh."

At the mention of 'Moody' Harry's eyes hardened and he snapped, "Yeah, well, that could have had something to do with him being V - "

"Very busy teaching us what we needed to know!" exclaimed Hermione, giggling nervously.  When Lavender frowned at her then looked away, the bushy-haired girl whirled on Harry.  "What were you _thinking?_  You can't let them know that!"

Harry snorted and picked up his fork again, viciously stabbing at a potato.  When Hermione had started to eat again, he growled, "Don't tell me what to do and what not to do, Hermione.  I get enough of that as is, thanks."

Hermione looked up and said, "Harry…"  But he had already turned away, suddenly talking to George suddenly about the Quidditch team.  Hermione sighed and poked at her plate for the rest of the feast.

* * * * * *

"I only have a few announcements this year.  Firstly, the forest on the grounds is strictly _forbidden_.  A few students would do well to remember that."

Further down the staff table, Saerry could not help but nod in agreement.  Her own pack (her reentry into the wizarding world could not omit the fact that they were _still_ her pack) roamed the border that stood between Hogwarts and the forest.  And she could vouch for them attacking any who came onto their grounds with evil or mischievous intent.

"Secondly," said Dumbledore, "all Hogsmeade trips this year have been canceled…"

A loud moan from the student body drowned out his next words.  McGonagall rapped her spoon against her goblet for silence.

"As I was saying, all Hogsmeade trips have been canceled (a few more soft moans) due to the returned of Voldemort.  All students are to be in bed by nine o' clock sharp."  Dumbledore cast his eyes about the Hall, alighting upon a few students.  "And this means _all_ students, Prefects and the Head Boy and Girl included."

"Now," said Dumbledore lightly, clasping his hands together, "all of you are probably wondering about the two new faces at the table.  Or, perhaps only one for some of you."

A few students laughed and Dumbledore's eyes twinkled behind his glasses.

"Firstly, Remus Lupin has decided to return his services to us as our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

Cheers went up from every table except for Slytherin (there were a few scattered bits of applause).  Harry, Ron, and Hermione probably applauded the loudest of all the students, causing Lupin to blush.

At the staff table, Saerry leaned around her brother to have a look at the returning professor who was getting so much praise.  Her dark eyes widened as the wolf sensed that he too was a werewolf as she was.  She remembered seeing him around the castle in the two weeks she'd been there before the term had started again but had never spoken to him or gotten close enough for the wolf to sense a kindred spirit.  But she could sense something else about him.  He was in pain.  The human part of him smelled faintly of pain.  This surprised her.

~ Perhaps he does not connect with the wolf, ~ she thought, leaning back into her chair.  When she had first been turned and brought into her pack, she had fought the wolf.  But when she fought, the transformation hurt even more than it usually did.  Acceptance of the wolf lessened the pain.  After all, how could you not accept something that was a part of you, even if you had never asked for it?

"And let me assure all of you that Professor Lupin is quite harmless.  On the days that he will not be able to teach his classes, I shall be substituting."

Saerry blinked.  ~ The students know he's a werewolf? ~ she thought, seeing faces among the student body frown but most laugh softly.  The boy at the Gryffindor table who had waved at Lupin earlier simply grinned at the weary looking professor, causing Saerry to jump.  ~ That boy… ~ she hissed in her head.

"As some of you might have noticed, we do not have the space for another teacher.  Yet there is one more person at the staff table.  An intriguing mystery, no doubt."

Severus snorted softly from Saerry's left and she turned to smile gently at her brother, whose only response was a twitch at the corner of his mouth.  He'd explained before that he had a reputation to keep among his students as a slimy bastard and she understood.  She just wished it didn't have to be so.

Dumbledore smiled and looked down the table at her, saying loudly, "May I introduce Miss Saerry Snape."

Around the Hall several jaws dropped in awe and Saerry could not help but chuckle.  She knew she had her brother's coloring (minus the fact that her own eyes were dark brown and his were black) but that whilst she had gained their mother's almost angelic looks, he had gained a mixture of their mother and father.  Of course, very few students knew that his nose had been broken fifteen different times during his school years – nine times by a Bludger and six by Sirius Black's fist – thus giving it its current look.

"Miss Snape will not be teaching any classes (a few students sighed at this) but she may however be sitting in on a few of your own.  Now, off you trot!"

Saerry watched the students as they rose to leave, her eyes particularly upon the young man at the Gryffindor table.  Under the light of the floating candles above his head, his black hair had a red sheen almost the color of blood.  As she watched him leave with his friends, she studied him, shocked at what she saw.

His build was almost exactly like her brother's, tall and lanky with broad shoulders.  The only difference between them was that the boy was skinner (though Severus was pretty close) and he only appeared to 5'11 while Severus was a towering 6'3.  His face was almost Severus' as well but not quite.  It was as though her brother's face was peeking through but was hidden by the face of someone else.  Very strange…  Perhaps she was imagining things.

"Saer?"

Saerry jumped as her brother's voice sounded right by her ear, his breath tickling.  She reached up and gave him a playful shove, snapping, "Stop that!"

"What?" he said, giving her an innocent look that only reached his eyes.

"You know what, silly goose," admonished Saerry as she rose gracefully from her chair to stand beside her brother.

"I am afraid I don't know what you are referring to, madam."

Saerry shook her head at him and finally earned a smile.  She glanced out of the corner of her eye to see that the students had all dispersed and now the teachers were leaving the Hall.  ~ Ah, ~ she thought.

"I don't believe we've been introduced," said a new voice suddenly.  Saerry turned her eyes away from her brother and found them focusing on the face of the new Defense professor.  He was holding a hand out towards her, which she slipped her own into with a smile.

"No, I don't believe we have," she replied.  "I have seen you around the castle though."

"And I you.  I did not want to disturb the two of you."  His gray eyes flicked from her to Severus and back and she smiled.

"How kind of you, Mr. Lupin."

"Please," he said, "call me Remus."

Saerry smiled and said, "Very well, Remus.  And please, call me Saerry.  I feel I shall never get used to being called Miss Snape.  I've always considered that our mother's title."

Remus blinked then realized she was talking about herself and Severus.

"Well," he said with a smile, "I can sympathize with you.  I've yet to get used to being called 'professor'."

Saerry chuckled and squeezed his hand, which she had not let go of during their entire conversation.  "Well," she said, "it is a pleasure to meet you, Remus.  Perhaps we can talk again."

Remus smiled.  "Perhaps," he said.  Then he released her hand and nodded to both her and her brother.  "Good night, Saerry, Severus."

"Lupin," growled Severus, his eyes glittering darkly as he watched the man walk off.

As soon as he was gone, Saerry turned a frown upon her brother.

"What was _that_ about?"

"What?" asked Severus as he offered her his arm and she took his, the two of them walking around the staff table and heading down the center of the Hall towards the doors.

"_That_ back there.  I heard the tone you used, Severus Sadiron Salazar Snape."

"Tone, dear sister?"

"_Severus_," growled Saerry warningly, her eyes snapping.

"May I state that Lupin very nearly killed me during my fifth year?"

"Mum said that was a cruel joke."

Severus looked down at her in shock as they stepped through the mirror in the entrance hall that led to the professor's quarters.  "You remember that?"

"Well I forgot it during my time with the pack, but since I've been back here, I've remembered a large amount of things."

"Saer…"

"Sev, I remember quite clearly that Mum said Sirius Black was responsible for nearly sending you to your death.  And if Remus was that werewolf, he had no control over himself.  You have no right to blame him.  After all, you _did_ take advice from Sirius Black, who I recall you hated with a passion."

"Still hate with a passion," grumbled Severus.

"Promise me."

"Promise you what?" asked Severus suspiciously.

"That you will stop blaming Remus for that prank," replied Saerry.

"Oh, Saer…"

"_Severus!_"

"Alright!  Dear sister, please refrain from yelling in my ears.  It reminds me far too much of Minerva when I was a student."

"I believe I grabbed your ear as well, Severus," said McGonagall as she came up behind them, smiling.

"And my ear shall never forget it," quipped Severus as he opened the door to Saerry's quarters, hearing McGonagall chuckle as she disappeared into her own rooms.

Saerry pulled away from her brother and walked into the rooms she had been given (which were in reality her brother's but as he resided in the dungeons, they had remained empty), placing a hand on the door.  She smiled at her older brother and said, "Good night, Sev."

"Good night," he replied, smiling at her before he turned and headed back down the corridor.  Saerry knew he was heading for his rooms in the dungeons and wished that he did not reside there.  But he said he preferred to be closer to the House he resided over and that the dungeons were much more peaceful than any of the upstairs quarters.

~ Same old Sev, ~ thought Saerry with a light chuckle as she closed her door and headed for bed.  ~ Always wants his quiet. ~


	3. Escape Into Your Dreams

_So my choice is 'Or Death?' * = definition/explanation/etc at end of chapter_

_~ Do you like…bread? ~ = thoughts_

Chapter 3

The first night of the students new term was a calm one for most.  Nearly all in the castle slept peacefully.

_Nearly._

In the Slytherin dorms, Draco Malfoy writhed in the nightmare memory of a Dark Revel his father had taken him to.  A few floors up, Cho Chang dreamt of a Cedric risen from his grave, half of his flesh eaten away by maggots.  Another floor up in Gryffindor Tower, Harry Potter dreamt once again of the Third Task, haunted again and again by the image of Cedric and his parents.

On the first floor, Saerry Snape had perhaps the most pleasant of dreams.  She dreamt that she was with her pack again in the Forbidden Forest.  But this time, her brother was with her, racing beside her in the form of a huge black wolf similar to herself.  And, to her utmost surprise, Remus Lupin has invaded her dream, appearing in the form of a large gray wolf.

But floors below her in the dungeons, her brother Severus dreamt darker dreams.  Dreams somewhat similar to those Draco Malfoy dreamt just down the corridor.  He dreamt:

First it was that fateful meeting, the beginning of his spiral into the dark.  He, a foolish boy fresh out of Hogwart's, had joined the Death Eater ranks without a second thought.  Such pride he had felt then.  Such vain ideals…

The dream shifted, changing from one raid to another.  His horror grew with each.

Now it came to that _other_ fateful night.  Another night he wished dearly that he could take back.

But the past cannot be changed without dire consquences for the present…

His heart pattered wildly against his ribs as he saw Lily Potter nee Evans among the ragged looking women locked inside a cage, its bars heavily charmed to prevent their escape.

"_Choose one, Severus_," hissed that voice; that voice that made his bones quiver at their marrow with the memory of it.  Or the actuality.

Dark eyes flicked about the room to the other high ranking Death Eater's.  His eyes locked onto Lucius Malfoy's face and followed his cold gray gaze to the cage.

The gray eyes were locked upon Lily's still form.

Breath caught in his throat.

~ No, ~ he thought.  ~ He'll not have her. ~

He had no choice.

"The redhead, my lord," his dream self said even as he watched the memory replay.  he tried desperately to get out of it.  to no avail.

"_A fine choice, my son_."

He only nodded and stepped forward to claim the limp form as it was handed to him.  Tucking her close again his chest, he turned towards the staircase, feeling Lucius' hating eyes on his back as he went.  up he went, carrying the unconscious woman with him.

He wished to every god he could get her out of there.  But he couldn't.  Not without endangering himself, her, and his service to Dumbledore as a spy.

His mother and little sister would be in grave danger as well, should he be caught.

To die…he would gladly do as such.  But his sister and mother and Lily?  Never.

He entered the room that was acknowledged as his and laid the unconscious form upon the bed, collapsing into a chair in the corner.  Throwing the stark white mask off of his face into the opposite corner, he slumped in the chair, expression sullen.

He did not want to do this.

But he had no choice.

So he rose…

Severus threw himself violently from the dream/memory with a loud cry.  In the waking world, his body jerked upright, dark hair hanging in limp strings.  Sweat soaked the blankets beneath him and the duvet he had pulled over himself.

Swinging his legs out from under the now wet wool, he rose and padded across the room to his wardrobe.  He changed into dry clothes slowly then moved over to the bed, flicking his wand at them then at the blankets piled on his old school chest beside the wardrobe.  As the blankets changed themselves thanks to his spell, he turned and padded out into the main room of his spacious quarters.

His rooms, despite popular belief, were not decorated in Slytherin colors.  They were more of a mish mash of colors, most of them dark and earthy or the color of fire.  All three of the couches, all acquired second-hand, had frames of old dark wood and coverlets ranging from dark earthy green to blood red.  The plush chairs – also acquired second-hand – were in the same style.  He didn't really care for the color or wear as long as it was comfortable to sprawl on.  Which it all was.

A mass of hand-woven Muggle rugs adorned the floor, some of them overlapping others to cover all of the cold stones.  They were all in the same colors and all had normal patterns with the exception of one, which had been woven to depict the form of a huge green dragon.

Severus padded across all of this to his lab, leaning inside instead of stepping in.  So as to avoid the cold stone floor, only.

He gripped the doorframe as he leaned, wand lit as he reached out to turn on the sink installed just inside the door.  Summoning a goblet he generally used for Lupin's potion, he rinsed it then filled it to its brim with cool water.  Turning the water off, he pulled out of the lab, muttering "Nox" to his wand.

Crossing the room again, he sprawled out onto one of the couches and sipped at the water.  Dark eyes fixed onto a spot on the wall across the room as his mind wandered back to the dream/memory.

~ _NO!_ ~

Severus spat the water out of his mouth and gagged.  He pushed himself up into a sitting position, placing the goblet on the floor by his feet.  Then he shivered from the cold and dragged the thick blanket off of the back of the couch.  He wrapped it tightly about himself, tucking the corners in where he could about his tall frame and stuffed pillows about the rest.  Leaning back, he took a deep breath and tried to clear the memory from his mind.

Lily's face loomed bright then and he moaned.  Efforts to forget completely wasted, he succumbed to the memory.

He Rose from the chair and walked over to the bed where Lily lay, her blood red hair splayed all about her.  She was so beautiful…

"I can't," he breathed, drawing back.  He turned away from the woman on the bed, the woman who had been his dearest – _his only_ – friend at Hogwarts.  Only _true_ friend, that is.

Behind him the emerald eyes winked open.

"Severus?"

He turned, fear in his dark eyes, and stared at her.  Self-consciously he drew the black Death Eater robes about himself and took a step back.  He looked down at the floor because he didn't want to see the dissapointment in her eyes.

"'Lo, Li."

Lily sat up slowly, reaching up with one dainty hand to rub at her head.

"What…where am I?  Are – _are those Death Eater robes?_"

He closed his eyes tight.  Merlin, he was ashamed.  Not even when his little sister had found the Mark had he been this ashamed.  What a hold this woman had over him.

"Yes," he choked out, turning away from her again.

He stood there a moment, trying to get ahold of himself (and failing miserably).  Then a pair of slim arms encircled his waist.  Warmth – _Lily's warmth_ – pressed against his back, which stiffened as she hugged him.

Gently, her hands turned him about so she could look up into his face.

"Severus," she said in a gentle tone, "I won't ask why.  I won't.  I know why.  You had such…ideals in school.  I remember.  I forgive you."

"Lily," he choked, feeling ashamed and relieved at the same time.

"Why did they take me, Sev?  Why am I here?"

He swallowed hard, paused, then answered, voice trembling with anger.

"The Dark Lord – Voldemort – he wanted to give the higher ranks a little – a little _sport_, as he called it.  He sent out ten of our number to kidnap ten women.  You were one.  No one knew who they'd take until they brought them back.  It was random."

"They're not _your_ number, Sev," insisted the redhead.

He shook his head.

"I'll always be one of their number, Lil.  _Always_.  This Mark," he rolled up his sleeve to show her, "is not only etched into my flesh, but into my _soul_.  I'll never escape the Death Eater ranks so long as I live."

Lily looked at him with sympathy and pity in her eyes and he looked away.  Sympathy he could stand.  Pity…pity was something no Snape would stand for.  Not even from Lily would he accept pity.

she looked hurt for a moment then embraced him.  he returned it slowly then quickly pulled her in tight, burying his face in her hair.

"I presume," she murmured into his ear, "that by 'sport' He meant sex."

He coughed and blew a lock of her hair away from his face before replying, "So I would presume."

"Will He…will He know if we don't…"

He only nodded and Lily pulled back from him, a small sad smile upon her face.

"Then…then I suppose we shall have to."

His dark eyes widened and he gasped, "Lil…I couldn't…_I can't_."

"I will _not_ allow you to put yours, your mother's, and your sister's lives at risk!" snapped Lily, emerald eyes flashing.

"I can't…"

"I'm not giving you permission, Sev," said she sternly.  "I'm giving you an _order_.  You'll do it or so help me, I'll…I'll…"

"You'll what?"

"I'll do something very painful to you."

"Oh really?" said he with a smile.

"Yeah," rumbled Lily with a mischievious smirk.

His expression faded and he said, "I still can't…"

"You _can_ and you _will_," snapped Lily as she grasped his hands and began to pull him towards the bed.  "I will not allow you to die because of _me_."

"Lily…"

Suddenly her lips trapped his and liquid fire seemed to blaze through him, engulfing everything.  His eyes snapped open as she pulled back, eyes aglow and cheeks rosey.  She then leaned her forehead against his and whispered, "It's the only way, Sev.  My dearest friend…I _do_ love you."

His heart leapt and he breathed, "I've _always_ loved you."

"Then don't let friendship stop you.  Don't let James, Sirius, Voldemort – _anyone_.  I…"

Her words were interrupted as he trapped her lips with his.  no more words were spoken after that.

~ I was such a fool, ~ thought Severus as he pulled away from the memory.  ~ One night I had her.  For one night she was _mine_.  And perhaps…perhaps safe. ~

With a heavy sigh, he closed his eyes and leaned back into the couch, pulling the blanket tighter about his shoulders.

~ But she was never _mine_.  Never.  For perhaps half an instant and then she was _Potter's_.  Then she was dead. ~

He shook himself and shivered.  Lily would've never been safe with him.  He'd been a Death Eater in the highest circle.  There had been four circles in Voldemort's so-called court: the Calco *, the new recruits; the Nidor *, the weaker one's ; the Letifer *, the more-skilled lot ; and the Caedes *, the best of the best, the Dark Lord's princes.  He had been of the Caedes.

And Merlin help him if Voldemort had found out about his loyalties to Dumbledore.  The old serpent might even know now.  He might be toying with him, making him believe he was safe until he uncoiled himself and lunged with fangs dripping their deadly venom.  Then he'd be dead, leaving his newly found sister alone in the world.

Hell itself would need to help Voldemort should he try to take Severus.  He may deplore what the Death Eater's did but he _was_ a Snape and had been taught curses from the cradle up.  And he would fight till death should his sister be in danger.

Wrapping the blanket tighter about himself, Severus finally closed his eyes and tried to sleep again.

* * * * * *

Up in Gryffindor Tower, Harry Potter jolted awake, a scream almost ripping its way out of his throat.  For half a moment, he thought he was back in his cupboard under the stairs and snapped his jaws shut, forcing the scream back down.  The muscles all along his back clenched and quivered as he waited for the cupboard door to open and Uncle Vernon's face to loom in…

But it never came.  His vision cleared and he nearly collapsed with relief as he saw that he was not back under the stairs at the Dursley's but safe at Hogwarts in his own bed in Gryffindor Tower.  Pulling one scarlet curtain gently back, he peered over at Ron's bed.  The ginger-haired boy slept peacefully and a glance about the circular room told that so did the other boys.  With a sigh, the dark-haired teen collapsed against his pillow, green eyes closing.

_Fire.  Blood.  Pain.  Avada Kedavra!  No, please, not my son!_

Emerald eyes flew open and Harry remembered what had awoken him in the first place.  He had begun to dream of that fateful night of the Third Task but _that_ had slowly shifted to what had appeared to be a Death Eater raid on a Muggle village.  Harry shivered and pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms about them as he tried not to remember.  But the images welled up and he clenched his eyes shut, tears leaking out as he saw a mother trapped in a Leg-Locker Curse trying to protect her seven-year-old son from a Death Eater.  That image was far too close to home.

~ Why? ~ he asked the empty air about him as a silver tear slipped silently down his cheek.  ~ Why the pain and suffering? ~

He shook his head, dark hair falling over his emerald eyes.  The moonlight streaming through the window shone on his hair, causing the reddish sheens to shimmer.  Muscles along his arms and back quivered as the image of that mother and her son flashed through his head again.  Quite suddenly he couldn't take it anymore and leapt from the bed, nearly tearing the curtains from their bearings as he made to escape the dormitory.

Stumbling down the staircase into the common room, he dashed across it to the bathroom and threw himself to his knees in front of the toilet, heaving up what remained of his meal from the Feast.  When his stomach was empty, he sagged against the porcelain bowl, forehead pressed up against its cool side.  His breath came in short gasps as he tried to get control of himself, sweat making his hair stick to his forehead.

Harry heaved himself to his feet, leaning heavily on the toilet as he pressed the lever to flush it.  Staggering back out into the common room, he fell upon the couch nearest the fire, which was barely a glimmer of flame now in the dim hours of the morning.  Hugging a scarlet pillow to his chest, he curled his long legs up against his chest and stared into the fire.

* * * * * *

Hermione was the first person in the common room the next morning, arriving there at a few minutes before 6:30.  Or she _thought_ she was the first person there.  A glance at the couch nearest the fire dismissed that notion.

"Harry?" queried the bushy-haired girl and took a step forward, a frown crossing her features.

The dark-haired boy on the couch didn't move at the sound of her voice.  But when she reached out to gently touch his bare shoulder, which was showing because of the baggy shirt he was wearing, she prompted a reaction.

Harry leapt away from her with a cry, green eyes wild as he scrambled to the other side of the couch.  Hermione jumped back and clapped her hands over her mouth in shock at her friend's behavior.  When she recovered herself, she took a small step towards him.

"Harry?"

The dark-haired boy pushed himself as far back into the couch as he would go, clutching the pillow to his chest like a shield.  His eyes, wild and unfocused, were locked onto her but Hermione felt as though he was looking right through her.  As though he was seeing something she couldn't see.

"Harry?" she asked again, reaching a quivering hand out towards him.  He flinched away, as though he thought the hand would strike him.  Hermione started to pull back then thought better of it and continued forward.  Harry shivered and buried his face in the pillow as her hand came closer.

When she gently touched his shoulder again, he let out a small cry and tried to jerk away.  But the couch wouldn't allow it and she was now close enough that the only way he could get away would be to shove her aside.

Hermione eased herself down onto the couch beside her friend, her hand still upon his shoulder.  She could feel him shaking beneath her touch and wondered what was prompting his odd behavior.  Gently, she reached out and pulled the pillow away from his face, revealing his now much leaner visage.  Tears streaked his cheeks silver and his emerald eyes blinked into focus as soon as they locked onto her face.

"Mione," he mumbled in a childish, petulant little voice and Hermione felt the urge to pull him into her arms and hug him.

So she did.  At first Harry resisted, trying to pull away from the unfamiliar embrace, then he sank into it with a sigh of release.  Hermione held him until the unexplained shivers stopped running along his lanky form.  When those stopped, she pulled a tissue from her pocket and gently brushed the tears from his cheeks.

Harry looked at her with calm green eyes, wondering inwardly if she would ask him what that earlier was all about.  But she just dabbed the tears away and put the now slightly damp tissue back into the pocket of her robe.  Then she smiled at him and hugged him tightly, which caused him to whimper with pain.

"Harry?" she said with a frown, pulling back.  "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," mumbled Harry in reply.  He reached up to pull the old baggy shirt (which had once belonged to Dudley) back up onto his rake-thin shoulders but Hermione put her hand in the way.  Brown eyes locked with green and Harry dropped his hand as he saw the look in the girl's eyes.  She was going to find out what was wrong and he was in no condition at the moment to stop her.

Hermione watched the dark-haired boy's face as she gripped the bottom of the baggy shirt and began to pull it up.  He made no move to stop her and lifted his arms obediently when she pulled it up and over his head.

The shirt fell to the floor with a gasp as the girl saw a sight she never wished to see again.  Purple and yellow bruises covered the whole right side of her friend's stomach, a few of them trailing down to disappear beneath the waistband of his pants.  Small, newly healed scars covered his upper torso and part of his stomach.  As all of them were grouped in fours, it was a good guess that they had come from a fork.

Hermione leaned over to peer at Harry's back, which wasn't in much better condition that his front.  Bruises covered the whole of it, accented here and there by the tiny fork scars.  A large brown bruise was on the lower left half of his back with a matching one near his right shoulder blade.  She covered her mouth in shock and fell back against the arm of the couch.

"Oh my God…  Harry…"

Harry turned his head away from her, face lost in a curtain of dark hair that shone slightly red.  "It's nothing," he murmured, almost to himself.

"_Nothing?_" gasped Hermione with a look of disbelief on her face.  She pushed herself up and reached out to grasp her friend's lightly muscled arms.  "Harry, its not _nothing!_  Who did this to you?  The Dursley's?"

There was no response from the turned head.

"It was, wasn't it?  I ought to tell…"

"_No!_" hissed Harry in a desperate voice, his head bouncing up.  Emerald eyes flashed and he reached up to grasp Hermione's arms in a painful grip.  "_Don't tell anyone!_"

"Harry, why…_why are you protecting them?!_" demanded Hermione, eyes flashing.  She ignored the pain in her arms for the moment.  Her friend's welfare was more important that a few bruises.

Harry looked away and said softly, "I don't have anywhere else to go."

Hermione started to open her mouth then snapped it shut.  She understood now.  If Harry was taken from the Dursley's, he'd have no place else to go but an orphanage.  And Lord knew how many people would love to get they're hands on the Boy-Who-Lived.  Most of them wouldn't have a warm and friendly home in mind.

"Dumbledore wouldn't let that happen," assured Hermione.

"And I won't make him go through that," said Harry seriously.  He released Hermione and bent to retrieve his shirt, standing up as he did so.  The teenage girl got a good look at the lean lines of his torso and back as he pulled the baggy shirt back over his head.  Her face grew hot as he turned back towards her and leaned down until their eyes met.

"Promise me," he said.  "Promise me that you won't tell anyone.  Not even Ron."

Hermione frowned, knowing she shouldn't make such a promise.  But at the petulant look on her friend's face and that begging tone in his voice (not to mention his pleading eyes) she had to agree.

"Not even Ron."

Harry smiled and murmured, "Thanks, Mione."  He then straightened and turned towards the boy's staircase, slowly heading up it.  Hermione watched him as he went, her mind reeling.

~ The Dursley's _beat him_, ~ her brain screamed.  ~ Was _that_ why he reacted to me the way he did? ~

* * * * * *

Harry reappeared a few minutes later, accompanied by a still partially asleep Ron.  The ginger-haired boy looked like an owl roused into daylight, blinking his blue eyes blearily as Hermione.

"'Lo, Herm-o-ninny," he mumbled incoherently as he stumbled down the staircase and collapsed into a chair.  Instantly, he was snoring.

Hermione frowned at the somewhat shorter figure who had come down the stairs behind the tall boy and snipped, "You just _had_ to wake him, didn't you?"

"Of course," replied Harry with a smirk that was far too familiar for comfort.  He gently shook the chair Ron was sprawled in, earning a groan and half a glare for his trouble.  "C'mon, Ron…"

"Bugger off," came the muffled reply from the chair.

"Oh, let him sleep," scolded Hermione.  "He apparently needs it."

"Mrrph," said the chair and Harry chuckled softly, leaning against the chair.  He smiled gently at Hermione, who felt as though the events of a few moments earlier had been cast aside and forgotten.

But when they roused Ron up a little later and set out for the Great Hall for breakfast, Hermione felt a slightly calloused hand enclose hers.  She turned as she started to step out into the corridor past the Fat Lady's portrait and felt her knees threaten to melt as she met Harry's brilliant green eyes.

"Thanks," murmured the boy, unknowing of the effect he was having on the girl in front of him.

Hermione opened her mouth, closed it, then opened her mouth again.  She stared Harry into the eyes as she said softly, "I promised.  And I won't break a promise unless I have to."

Harry smiled in an oddly familiar sort of way and said, "Then we'll just have to see that you don't have to do that, won't we?"

Hermione felt herself enlivened by his mischievous smile and grinned in return.

"Oi!" came a cry from down the corridor that had the two of them springing apart.  Both turned their eyes to Ron, who was looking back at them with a perturbed expression on his face.  He yelled, "Are you two just going to stand there all day or are we going to go eat?"

"We're coming, Ron," called Harry back, his eyes focusing back upon Hermione.  "Its not like anyone's going to be up this early."

Ron snorted and grumbled, "Then why am _I_ up this early?  Oh, yes.  Because a certain _dark-haired wraith from Hell_ decided to wake me up."

Harry gave his friend a Look and said, "Thanks, Ron.  Now people are going to be afraid of me."  He grinned slightly at Hermione and added, "C'mon then, Mione.  Let's not keep Grumpy waiting."

"Lead on, kind sir," joked Hermione, allowing Harry to step out into the corridor in front of her.  He chuckled and, as they caught up to Ron, gave the ginger-haired boy a playful shove.  Ron frowned then rolled his eyes and shoved the dark-haired boy back.  Hermione laughed and called both of them idiots.

Behind them, the Fat Lady shook her head and chuckled softly at their antics.

_* calco – tread under foot_

_* nidor - reek_

_* letifer – death-dealing_

_* caedes - carnage_


	4. And the World Continues to Go Around

_So my choice is 'Or Death?' * = definition/explanation/etc at end of chapter_

_~ Do you like…bread? ~ = thoughts_

Chapter 4

"Sev?" queried Saerry as she rapped her knuckles against the thick oaken door that lead into her elder brother's apartment.  "Sev, are you alright?"

Nothing answered her query and she was beginning to get worried.  She could barely remember her childhood (bits and pieces of it were slowly trickling back) but she knew enough that her brother had _never_ slept late in his life.  To get no answer from the man she _knew_ was a sometime insomniac and had hearing to rival her own wolfen, it was very worrisome.

"Sev!  Sev, open the damn door!"  She slammed her fist against the wood now, not caring if she woke the Slytherin's just down the corridor.

As her fist came down for a sixth knock, the sound of locks being turned caused her to pause.  When the door opened a crack, she let her hand fall to her side and peered into the room through the crack.  A bleary black eye stared back at her and she frowned.

"Sev?"

"What do you want?" came her brother's voice, rough and not at _all_ like himself.

Saerry frowned and replied, "I wanted to know that you were okay.  I re…you're generally up by now."

"Owe it to several bad dreams," grumbled Severus as he swung the door wide, revealing himself to be barefoot and wrapped tightly in a blood red blanket trimmed in silver.  "Anything else you were hammering on my door about at 6:45 in the morning?"

"I was wondering if you were coming to breakfast."

Severus' face paled and he looked as thought he might be sick.  But he quickly got a hold of himself and said quickly, "Not today.  I'm sorry, Saer…"

"No," said Saerry, shaking her head.  "Its okay.  I'll just go find Remus."

As she turned to head out of the dungeons, Severus snarled, "If he tries anything, I'll kill him."

"Oh, _come on_, Sev," whined Saerry, halting to turn and frown at him.  "I'm a full-grown woman, not to mention a werewolf.  I can take care of myself."  With that she turned and left, leaving Severus to stand alone in his doorway.  He stared after her for a long moment before he said anything.

"_He_ is a werewolf too," he stated under his breath.  "And _you_ may be a woman but you are _my_ sister and I shall not lose you again.  I swear it."  With that, he tugged the blanket more tightly about his shoulders and vanished back into his apartment

* * * * * *

"Morning, Remy," said Saerry cheerfully as she sat down next to the slightly gray-haired man at the Head Table.  He blinked at her owlishly as she began heaping food onto her plate.

"Good morning, Saerry," he said back amiably, looking a little nervous.

Saerry waggled her fork at him and poked, "Oh, c'mon, Remy.  Don't be scared."

Remus frowned at her for a moment before he spoke in his usual calm voice.

"It's not that I'm scared, Saerry.  Its just – you…you are very strange."

"Why do you say that?"

"You…you're so comfortable with…"  Remus paused and shifted uncomfortably here.  "So comfortable with being – being what we are.  I don't see how…"

Saerry smiled gently and reached out to place her slender hand over his.  Warmth spread through her at the touch and her toes tingled in her shoes.

"I wasn't raised as you were.  You, Remy, you were raised as a wizard – and wizards don't like werewolves.  They think of them as sub-human, like house-elves.  You probably thought you would never have friends.  Hell, you probably thought you'd never make it out of school."

Remus nodded slowly.  He had indeed thought those things.

Saerry smiled and continued, "But me – me, Remy, I was raised in the wild.  I had werewolves all around me and not a human or a wizard for miles.  We never had to fear being caught, killed, disgraced, or cast out.  We were a pack.  We were _family._  True family.  We stood together and fought together and bled together and died together."  She shrugged slightly and finished, "That's the way the packs have always been."

"But you – you _accept_ the wolf.  How?"

Saerry smiled and looked into the gentle gray eyes.

"The wolf is as much a part of _us_ – the Bitten – as it is with the Born.  To accept the wolf is to get rid of a little of the pain during transformation.  It helps a little in the afterwards too."  She smiled and squeezed his hand gently.  "I can sense the pain you continually go through.  Its not worth fighting, Remy.  Accepting the wolf won't make you lose your humanity.  It'll make you more _human_ if anything."

"I can't believe that.  Not…not after so long."  Remus turned his face away from her and she smiled.

"I know its hard.  It was hard for me too in the beginning.  But I accepted it.  And it got _better_.  You can't fight what you _are_, Remy.  The wolf _is_ you, as much as the human.  Don't let one overshadow the other.  Balance them.  Those in the pack who don't, don't survive long."

Remus gave her a frown of confusion.  "We aren't in a pack," he said.

Saerry arched an eyebrow and tilted her head slightly to the left.

"Aren't we?" she asked.  "Doesn't everyone here depend on someone else?  Does not the Headmaster depend upon the professors to keep order?  Do the students not depend upon their friends?"

"Yes, but I don't see…"

"_That_," interrupted Saerry, "is a pack.  It is depending upon each other to get things done.  The Houses' depend upon the members within to stand together.  Is that not family?  And is not family a pack?"

"I suppose…"

"It _is_," insisted Saerry, squeezing his hand again.

"Then what are you in this…pack?"

"Me?"

"Yes."

Saerry smiled and replied, "I'm the outsider, the loner, the new face in the pack.  Just like years ago, I'm being tested out to see if they can let me in.  Maybe they will, maybe they won't.  At least here I won't get torn limb from limb if they won't let me in."

Remus smiled gently and placed his other hand over hers.  Leaning close, he whispered, "Don't be so sure."

Saerry shivered as his breath tickled her cheek and trickled across her skin.  Merlin help her, he made her feel like no one else ever had.

Her eyes widened and she and Remus disengaged their hands, turning back to their respective breakfasts, small talk transferring between them from then on.  None of it being of werewolves.

~ By the First Born, ~ she thought with a vague since of horror as they drifted into the topic of Remus' classes.  ~ I am not falling for him, am I? ~

* * * * * *

"Oh no," groaned Harry as Professor McGonagall handed him his, Ron, and Hermione's schedules.

"Whot?" asked Ron around a mouthful of eggs.  Hermione cast the ginger-haired boy an askance look then peered over Harry's shoulder at the schedule.

"Oh dear…"

"What?" asked Ron again, this time with his mouth clear.

"We have Defense first," said Harry.

Ron blinked and stated, "Hey, that's a good thing."

The dark-haired boy lifted his eyes to look at his friend and added, "Potions is second."

"_Oh bloody hell!_"

"Five points from Gryffindor, Mister Weasley!" snapped McGonagall from down the table.

"Bugger," grumbled Ron, attempting to hunch down behind Seamus.  But being the tallest in your class had some bad points.  One of them being you did not have the ability to hide behind anyone.

"Oh dear," said Hermione as she took her schedule from Harry.

Ron moaned, "What now?"

"It's _double Potions_."

There was a sharp _thunk!_ as Ron's head hit the table top.

"Thank you _ever_ so much, Hermione."

"Well," snipped Hermione, "its not as if I _like_ Potions.  Snape is such a – a – _urgh_."

"Don't believe I've ever heard that one before," said Harry with a smile.

Hermione glared at him and he just shrugged and smiled in response.  The bushy-haired girl then cried, "Professor Lupin!"

Harry turned about in his seat and greeted the graying professor with a broad smile.  Remus returned it brightly and said, "Hello, Harry, Hermione, Ron.  I believe I have all of you first, correct?"

"Yeah," grumbled Ron.

"What's wrong with him?" asked a soft voice from Remus' side.  Harry and Hermione turned their eyes there and blinked when they saw Saerry standing there, her arm looped through Remus'.  She blinked her dark brown eyes at them then at Ron then looked at the man beside her in confusion.

"Double Potions is second," explained Hermione after a moment.

"Oh," said Saerry with a small frown.  "I see."

Remus nodded and patted Harry's shoulder.  Both he, Saerry, and Hermione noted the fact that he tried to jerk away.  "Good luck then," said the werewolf reassuringly, brows furrowed as he put the notation of that movement to the back of his mind.  "I'll see the three of you in class."

"Goodbye, sir," mumbled Harry sheepishly, inwardly cursing himself for his jumpiness and his uncle for doing this to him.

"Goodbye, professor," echoed Hermione, followed by Ron.  The bushy-haired girl arched her eyebrows at Harry, who shook his head and picked up his fork again.

Hermione sighed and went back to her own meal.  Ron had not even noticed what had gone on.

* * * * * *

"That was very strange," remarked Saerry as she and Remus left the Great Hall.

"Indeed," said Remus, a frown upon his lean features.  "I don't understand why Harry would flinch…"

Saerry frowned and looked up at the man beside her.

"Beatings?" she inquired.  She was slightly surprised when her query prompted a dark look from him.

"I wouldn't put it past his relatives," growled Remus, a ring of amber glowing faintly around his iris' for a moment before it faded away.  He then shook and smiled amiably at her before asking "Would you like to sit in on my classes today?  I have a two hour period to myself after lunch.  Perhaps I could teach you some of the things you've missed, not having come to Hogwarts."

Saerry smiled up at him warmly and said, "I'd like that."

Remus grinned.  "That's settled then.  You do have a wand, don't you?"

"Of course.  Sev and I went to get it a week before the term started."  She gave a proud little smile and proclaimed, "I've been practicing."

"Really?" said Remus, wondering what spells the dour Potions Master had his unlearned sister doing.  "What sort of spells?"

"A few I remember Sev doing when I was little.  I had a mishap and repainted a classroom in pink and green polka dots."  Saerry smiled sheepishly and continued, "Professor Flitwick…I mean, Hayden, has been teaching me a few charms as well."

"Would you perhaps like to give a few Defense spells a try?"

"Of course!" exclaimed Saerry, eyes bright behind the silver streaked dark hair that had fallen over her eyes.

Remus chuckled and said, "You remind me of your brother.  Always ready to learn."

Saerry smiled proudly at that comment.  "I have much to learn and so little time to do so.  You giving me help would be much appreciated, Remy."

Remus smiled and nodded before looking away for a moment.  When he looked back, it was with a vaguely haunted look in his gray eyes.

"And," he began, "perhaps – perhaps you can help me…accept the wolf."

Saerry squeezed his arm gently and smiled as their eyes met.

"I would love to, Remy."

* * * * * *

Saerry watched eagerly as the fifth year Gryffindors entered the Defense classroom.  Her eyes wandered over each of them before they lingered upon Harry and his two friends as they entered.  The dark orbs stayed there for a few moments before they bounced over to Remus.  Heat grew in her face as Remus turned at her stare and smiled at her.  She looked away and felt blush creeping up her neck.  Oh the First Born help her, she _was_ falling for him!

Remus continued smiling as he looked away from Saerry and to his class.  "Hello, again," he said.  "Have you all been having fun while I was gone?"

"_No!_" chorused the entire class, most especially the Terrible Trio.

"Welcome back, Professor Lupin!" chorused Dean and Seamus.

"Yes, welcome back!" cried Parvati.

"Hear, hear!" called Harry, Hermione, and Ron in unison.

Remus grinned broadly at the welcome and said, "Well then.  Let's get started, shall we?  And if anyone is wondering, Miss Snape shall be sitting on a few of my classes.  Don't mind her, she's just visiting and won't drag you off to the dungeons to add to one of Professor Snape's potions."

A few students chuckled nervously then did so louder as Saerry herself laughed softly.

"Now then," said Remus, clapping his hands together.  "Get out your books and turn to page thirty-two…"

* * * *

"_Potions is canceled!_"

"Yes!" crowed Ron.  "My wish has finally come true!"

"That's weird," said Harry.  "Snape's never missed a class."

"You sound disappointed," grumbled Ron.

Harry blinked and exclaimed, "No!  Just wondering why Snape would cancel Potions.  He's never done that before."

"Let's just get out of here before he changes his mind," muttered Hermione.

The two boys looked at each other and hurried away from the Potions classroom, leaving Hermione to jog after them.

"Hey!  Slow down!"

Hermione frowned at both of them as she huffed, "I've got shorter legs than the both of you!"

"Maybe you'll hit a growth spurt like Harry here," quipped Ron, grinning at his friend.

"I doubt it.  What did you two think of Miss Snape?"

"She's pretty," replied Ron.  "Hard to believe she's Snape's sister."

"Not everyone has a sibling resembles them, Ron," said Harry.

"I knew that!"

Hermione just shook her head and looked skeptically at Harry, who grinned at her.


End file.
